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june 2022 | RPM Magazine
Story: George Pich Photos: Jerry Garrison
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IAN HILL RACE PARTS 2
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Travers Scott helps build custom homes by day, but his side gig has everything to do with horsepower!
T
he humble Californian got an early start as a young boy watching his uncle Baja racing. “He had a ’28 Ford truck that was in the magazines and was modifying Baja bugs and dune buggies and always took the time to involve me,” Travers remembered. As he grew up his appreciation of cars grew as well. His best friend’s dad had a ’67 Camaro, and
being typical car-crazy teens, when his buddy’s dad was out of town, they would regularly disconnect the odometer, throw some slicks on it, load the backseat up with three or four people and go look for races around town. Travers continued to enjoy cars, but ventured into most anything with an internal combustion engine; getting his first car (a 1968 Camaro) at 16 and
LENTECH 6TH
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slamme
to the w
then desert racing motorcycles and even jet boats! He installed a 250-shot of nitrous oxide on his first jet boat and that would firmly set the hook for his love of nitrous, and he’s been dedicated to it ever since. By 25, he had built a mid-9-second Camaro drag car, but after12
wards would take almost 20 years away from racing to raise a family. As his kids grew and went off in their own directions, Travers knew he wanted to get back in the driver’s seat of something fast. Since he still had the Camaro, he and his buddy Johnny made
june 2022 | RPM Magazine
ed
weeds
KINSLER HALF
....courtesy of a full Willie Rells chromoly chassis. The Coupe is an original steel body and quarters with fiberglass doors, trunk and nose. Body and paint was done by SoCal Paint.
HARLAND SHARP
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The 565 big block towers above the hood line of the custom onepiece front end. Having the liftoff front provides easy access to the engine and nitrous systems.
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june 2022 | RPM Magazine
Put the Hammer Down.
You don’t cut corners or accept compromises.
Use the best parts, like Trick Flow GenX® 255 square port cylinder heads that can significantly increase the performance of your GM LS-powered car. Highlights include LS3-shaped CNC Competition Ported runners, CNC-profiled combustion chambers, 12° valve angles, coolant holes that work with all LS head gaskets and engine blocks, and your choice of standard or 6-bolt mounting patterns—all engineered, machined, assembled, durability tested, and dyno proven in the USA to help your car stay ahead of the pack. Dyno Results
Airflow Results
GenX 255 Square Port
GenX 255 Square Port
Lift Value
Intake Flow CFM
Exhaust Flow CFM
.100"
71
59
.200"
146
113
.300"
231
171
.400"
294
215
.500"
334
240
.600"
363
252
.700"
382
258
TRICKFLOW FULL
Test Engine: GM 6.2L LS3 short block with 10.43:1 compression, Trick Flow GenX® 255 square port cylinder heads (TFS-3261T002-C01), Trick Flow Track Max® hydraulic roller cam (TFS-32603001), stock L92 intake with 90mm throttle body, Kooks headers with 17⁄8" primaries, and dual exhaust with 3" Flowmaster mufflers.
Tests conducted at 28" of water (pressure). Bore size: 4.065"; exhaust with 2" pipe.
Your Recipe for GM LS Performance! New heads are just one component of the horsepower recipe. To make it complete, you’re going to need some more ingredients.
Track Max® Camshafts Give your GM LS an even bigger power boost with a Track Max camshaft. Available in several hydraulic roller designs up to 230°/238° duration and .625"/.625" of lift, they are dyno proven to produce significant power increases over the entire RPM range.
Active Fuel Management and Variable Valve Timing Delete Kits The problem: most performance camshafts don’t work on engines equipped with AFM or VVT. The solution? Ditch them with these delete kits! They include everything to completely remove AFM and VVT the right way so your engine will make the power you expect with no hiccups.
Cylinder Head Bolt Kits Keep combustion where it belongs! These high-quality cylinder head bolt kits provide consistent clamping force. The bolts are made from premium quality alloy steel with cold-formed heads and rolled threads. The kit contains all the bolts you need to install a pair of heads.
TrickFlow.com • 1-330-630-1555
2207RPCT
Some parts are not legal for sale or use on any pollution-controlled motor vehicles.
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It was simply a work of art... t r av e r s s c o t t
BES RACING ENGINES
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a list for a new motor build but soon realized it would rip the Camaro apart. “It was going to cost too much to make the Camaro safe and I made the decision that I needed a new chassis.” During his visits to the machine shop, Travers often noticed a new build
on the rack covered in dust. It sat there for 10 years or so and he always had an interest. One day he mentioned something to one of the workers who ended up talking to the owner about it, and as it turns out, the chassis was one of the last Willie Rells chassis to
The 565-inch big block Chevy sports an aluminum block and heads and is topped by twin Holley 1050 carbs.
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nothing to hide here
The fun continues with 3 Induction Solutions nitrous systems; two direct port and one Punisher plenum system.
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be built. “It was simply a work of art,” Travers explained. “And because I was one of the only people that showed genuine interest in the car and didn’t try to beat the owner up over the price, he decided to sell it to me.” Rells was local to Travers and one of the country’s top chassis builders that, with some of his innovative designs, helped set standards that the NHRA still uses to this day. “Unfortunately though, I am a Chevy guy and it had a Mustang body, but because the work was so exquisite I looked past it being a Mustang and actually started to develop a spot in my heart for it,” Travers added with a chuckle. But make no mistake, the Mustang would be powered by a big block Chevy on nitrous…lots of nitrous! Five months later, after working day and night, the Mustang was ready to go. After a few “systems check” runs up and down the street it was loaded up to hit the track where Travers made his
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A top-shelf Willie Rells chassis is complemented by meticulous tin work throughout the interior.
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first 1/8th-mile run for licensing; a 5.08 at 132MPH. “It was such an amazing feeling!” he exclaimed. Today, the Mustang runs deep into the 4-second range clocking a best of 4.38 at 162MPH with a 1.02 60-foot time and is known to be a solid
contender in heads-up and no-time drags. The Rells chassis is a full chromoly tube chassis with fabricated staggered front suspension and custom 4-link/coilover out back that hangs a Fab 9 housing with 4.30 gears and gun-drilled
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june 2022 | RPM Magazine
Except for the Racepak dash, most of the electronics are neatly fixed to the passenger side firewall area.
WORLD PRODUCTS
VFN CARD
TRAILER ALARMS CARD
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Travers Scott’s 1985 Mustang Body & Paint:
Was there a special reason to build this car?
Glass Steel body tub with Hairy Glass front end, doors and trunk. Paint by SO Cal.
Chassis Modifications: Willie Rells full chromoly tube chassis certified to 6.0.
Suspension: Staggered front with Strange Pro Mod shocks, 4 link with Penske coilovers on the rear.
Engine: 565 inch big block Chevy. Brodix hipped block 9.8 deck, 55 millimeter cam tunnel. Callies Magnum crank, GRP aluminum rods, Diamond Racing pistons, Clevite bearings and Total Seal rings. Reher Morrison 12° Raptor 2 heads with T&D rockers, Manton pushrods, Victory valves, PAC springs and retainers. Meziere water pump, Product Engineering vacuum pump and ATI balancer. HRE aluminum intake manifold with two Holley 1050 dominators. Magnafuel 500 pump.
Power Adder: Two Induction Solutions direct port systems and a Punisher plenum system.
Transmission: BTE transmission with Sonnax Internals. PTC two piece converter, Bonnifante billet flexplate, aluminum driveshaft. TCI shifter.
Rear Differential: Fab 9 housing with big ring gear 4.30 ratio and Strange gun-drilled 40 spline axles.
Tires & Wheels: Rears are Bogart beadlocks with Mickey Thompson 32x14x15 tires.
I built this car to pursue my passion and to take on a hobby. I can appreciate how challenging drag racing is, it takes a miserable amount of work to get subtle changes and I love it!
How long did it take to build the car? It took five months to get it going and I have owned it six years now and have constantly made upgrades.
Thanks To: I am so blessed to be surrounded by people that I love and respect. Johnny Motorhead is a huge reason for the cars consistency and reliable power. Gary Burk, you are amazing and I appreciate you so much for the passion and the help with everything. These two guys are my team and without them there would be no team. TB Metalworx, I can’t thank you enough for letting me mob to your shop and your exquisite freestyle fab work with the endless hours of fabrication you’ve done for me and have helped me with. Papenhausen Construction, thank you for your sponsorship and understanding of how idiotic drag racers are and bearing with me ALL the times I leave early. RPM Machine, thank you for all the trick components that you put out and give me the bro deals.Thank you compound Restorations. Thank you Maxima Racing Oils, Jim at O’Reilly and Marty at Plex Products. Thank you to my wife Becky for putting up with my compulsive exhausting compassion for the sport and letting me embrace my hobby. Thank you to Barona, Irwindale, Bakersfield and Sacramento dragstrips, and any others that I am missing on the West Coast. This is a dying sport and we need to stick together to keep it alive! Thanks also to Chuck at Performance Transmission for rebuilding a reliable race transmission and Jimmy Brown for his support.
Interior & Electronics: MSD 600 individual coil pack ignition, Grid, Racepak, Leash stage controller, Davis profiler.
ET & MPH: 4.38 at 162MPH in the 1/8th. 1.02 60 ft. 2.89 125.
RAGE WRAPS CARD
MOSER CARD
moserengineering.com
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RPM TARGET MARKET
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this
rocket launcheshard 26
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40 spline axles. The body is an original Mustang steel tub and quarters with Hairy glass front end, doors and trunk lid, and the car definitely takes advantage of the weight portion of the “how to go quicker and faster” equation. The 565-inch BBC started with a Brodix hipped 9.8 deck block with 55 millimeter cam tunnel. A 28
june 2022 | RPM Magazine
forged Callies Magnum crank spins GRP aluminum rods with Clevite bearings pinned to custom nitrous application Diamond pistons with Total Seal rings. Reher Morrison 12° Raptor 2 heads were studded in place and are equipped with Victory valves, PAC springs and retainers, T&D rockers, and Manton pushrods. An HRE aluminum
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A custom staggered strut suspension with rack and pinion steering were used up front while a 4-link/coilover setup hangs a Fab 9 housing packed with 4.30 gears, a spool and 40 spline axles out back.
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intake is capped with twin 1050 Holley Dominators fed by a MagnaFuel 500 pump. The icing on this already high power cake is, of course, nitrous! For the extra hit Travers relies on three systems of Induction solutions juice; two direct port systems and a Punisher plenum system. Backing the heavy duty big block is a heavy duty transmission from BTE built with Sonnax Internals that’s mated to a PTC two-piece converter, billet flexplate and custom aluminum driveshaft. The quality of the chassis is evident inside the Mustang as you’re greeted by a maze of chromoly bars and topshelf tin work. There’s zero remnants of an original Mustang here, just stuff to get from point A to B in a hurry. A TCI shifter, fire suppression system and slew of passenger side firewall-mounted electronics are most notable along with the sizeable rear wheeltubs that house the 32x14 Mickey Thompson slicks.
When it comes to drag racing and winning and losing, Travers has a solid perspective he takes along with him in life and racing; “This is a humbling sport and you’re probably going to lose a lot more than you win. We have had a lot of awesome memories. Winning against JJ Da Boss and taking some of that TV money was pretty good, but every day I get up and have friends and family around me is a win for me. I expect to lose a lot more and win a few more. I have so much respect for anyone racing at all levels. I enjoy lining
up against cars of higher caliber and a better skill set. To the racing family and racing fans, thank you for letting me be a part of it, thank you to all the promoters who gave us racing on the West Coast and thank you to all the photographers who showcase and display my passion and hobby. We’re about maxed out with the car but have a little bit more to get out of it and we’ll probably stay at this level. One thing’s for certain though, when you line up against the Red Rocket you better be nervous…and that’s a fact!”
RACETRONIX HALF
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